12 A Century of Family Letters [CHAP, i 



as you could possibly wish, but we must allow that we have 

 still better reason to know that he is indeed a blessed man. 

 I certainly was surprised at its coming so soon ; it was very 

 handsome in him to fancy he doubted. It is very like a 

 marriage of Miss Austen's, can I say more ! Those greedy 

 girls Ellen and Carry are crying out to write. You must 

 come any day before Friday in the week. I don't give 

 Catherine Darwin any credit for what you call her good 

 nature. I shall write to her soon and tell her what I think 



of her luck. 



Heaven bless you, Your loving friend, 



G. TOLLET. 



Ellen Toilet to Emma Wedgwood. 



. . . You two will be quite too happy together, and I hope 

 you will have a chimney that smokes, or something of that 

 sort to prevent your being quite intoxicated. It will be 

 quite enchanting to come and see you, but you will be an 

 untold loss. You are the only single girl of our own age in 

 this country worth caring much for but life is short and 

 one ought to be cheerful as long as one is neither cold nor 

 hungry, I am both just now. 



Charles was, as his letters shew, very eager for the mar- 

 riage to follow quickly. Emma appears to have felt doubts 

 as to leaving Elizabeth alone, to a life that was one of 

 watching and nursing. Her father was now in broken 

 health and was troubled with a shaking palsy. Her mother 

 had long been a complete invalid. 



No letters from my mother to my father have been pre- 

 served, either before or after marriage. Whether she 

 destroyed them on his death, or whether he did not keep 

 them, I do not know, but he had not the habit of keeping 

 letters except those of scientific interest. A selection from 

 those he wrote to her during the engagement, all of which 

 she carefully treasured, are here given. 



